On the first of January 1910, a direct exchange of mails was inaugurated between Chinde and Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, and vice versa. Communications with South Africa have thus been much accelerated. The service via Delagoa Bay and Johannesburg, which was unsatisfactory, has been suspended.
The overland service to Mpimba to Northern Angoniland is to be extended to Karonga in North Nyasa, when the relays will cover a distance of some 500 miles. As an instance of the risks and difficulties incident to the overland mail service it may be mentioned that, in August of 1909, one of the mails was seized by lions and torn to pieces.
The total postal revenue shows a decrease of 1908-9 of ₤2, 269 and the expenditure an increase of ₤294. The increase in revenue is mainly attributable to the falling off in stamp sales to dealers, which was stimulated last year by a new issue of stamps, but which sank during the year under review by no less than ₤1, 783, namely, from ₤1, 974 to ₤190. The greater expenditure has resulted from the heavier weight of mail matter carried and the increased charges against mails by sea.
The following table shows the amounts of correspondence dealt with during the year:
| 1909-1910 | |
| Letters | 780,375 |
| Postcards | 19,646 |
| Newspapers | 170,924 |
| Book packets | 82,242 |
| Parcels | 9,910 |
| Samples | 1,664 |
| Closed Bags (Colonial Office) | 977 |
These figures do not take into account correspondence in transit (i.e., re-sorted at different offices), which has been included in previous postal statistics .
The use of British postal orders is indicated by the following figures:
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Sales | Poundage | Paid | |
| 1908-9 | 7,436 | 102 | 3,550 |
| 1909-10 | 10,040 | 136 | 6,334 |
It will be seen from the above figures that the popularity of these orders continues to increase.
